


AU in which it’s Richie and not Eddie

by IanGayagher101



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: 2017 Pennywise, AU in which Richie gets skewered instead of eddie, Adult Losers Club (IT), Angst with a Happy Ending, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Beverly Marsh is a Good Friend, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier-centric, Hurt Richie Tozier, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, M/M, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Minor Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Pennywise (IT) Being an Asshole, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Stephen King's IT References, The House on 28 Neibolt Street (IT)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21545791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IanGayagher101/pseuds/IanGayagher101
Summary: Overused AU in which Richie gets hurt, not Eddie
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 3
Kudos: 156





	AU in which it’s Richie and not Eddie

'Richie!' a muffled voice came from above him. He felt as if he was underwater. 'I think I got It! I think I killed It!' Eddie's victorious voice became louder and clearer. Richie opened his eyes blearily. The lens on his right were cracked in the centre. Eddie sat atop of him, a large, triumphant grin spread across his grime covered features. Then suddenly Richie saw it again;

This had happened before. The Deadlights. 

_Eddie sat straddled above him, wearing a victorious smile as he exclaimed 'Richie, I think I defeated It!'. His voice was filled with pure disbelief and excitement. Richie stared blearily up at him, blinking away the soft vignette hidden behind his eyes. Within seconds, Richie gasped in shock as blood spilled from Eddie's mouth and smeared the man beneath him a sickening crimson. It's hideous cackles filled Richie's ears as he stared on in shock at the man above him._

_'Richie,' Eddie cried, hands shaking as he reached up to grasp the claw driven through his midsection. He slowly raised his head to look at Richie, eyes crinkled in agony, shining and almost pleading. His hands came away caked in the red fluid. There was blood everywhere. Too much._

_'Eddie!' he breathed. He felt frozen in place. Helpless. Unable to move. His breath came out in small pants. He didn't like that he had no control; unable to help the man he loved as he bled and plead above him. He felt as if he were someone else, observing as the scene before him took place._

_He jolted out of his with surprise as Pennywise let out another shriek of laughter. It drew back, hauling a screaming Eddie into the air, still impaled on Its claw. Eddie dangled limply, staring down at Richie, desperation spread across his features. Richie screamed out as Eddie was torn away from him. He shot up as if to act, but came to a halt as he realised he was helpless. His heart pounded in his skull. He couldn't believe this was happening. Not his Eddie. Richie had been stripped of any control, left powerless and unable to help._

_'Richie!' Eddie screamed as the clown dangled him in the air like a puppet._

_'Eds!' Richie yelled hopelessly, voice breaking and coming off hoarsely. In the distance, he could hear the panicked screams of Bev and Bill as their friend was thrown around. Pennywise drew his wet, cracked lips back into a sneer._

_'What's wrong, Trashmouth?' he taunted, long, gooey strands of saliva dripping from his parted mouth. The clown shook Eddie around in his grasp, eliciting a grunt of pain from the man. Anger burned deep within the pit of Richie's stomach._

_'Put him down, you stupid fucking clown!' he roared. His body shook with rage and tears welled up in his eyes. He blinked them away. Pennywise's expression fell slightly._

_'Aw, you want your little boyfriend back?' he teased in mock sympathy. He snapped his head toward the roof and let out a taunting chortle of shrieking laughter. Richie's lip quivered as he watched Eddie's eyes begin to grow heavy. His tight posture grew limp as the man started to become weary._

_The clown drew back, lifting Eddie up on his claw. It then sent him hurling off the appendage and toward the other side of the cave. Eddie landed near several rocks with a thud._

_Time seemed to slow down as Richie ran toward him, gently rolling the man over and pressing his jacket against the bloody, gaping wound. He pulled Eddie toward him, rocking him in his arms. He begged him to hold on; to stay with him. Eddie's breath reduced to barely audible huffs._

_'Eds?' Richie whispered, pulling away from the man to look at him. He raised a bloody hand and gently cupped Eddie's uninjured cheek. His skin felt like ice. He stroked the pads of his fingertips over his soft cheekbones._

_'D-don't call me that,' Eddie breathed quietly, a small chuckle falling from his lips. 'You know I...' he trailed off, his head falling back against the rocks. Somewhere behind him, Richie heard Beverly let out a pained sob.  
Richie stared in pure shock and disbelief, eyes welling with tears. He whimpered softly as he pulled Eddie toward his chest, cradling his head with shaky, bloody hands. _

_'He's gone, Rich,' Ben whispered, resting a hand on the man's shoulder. Richie let out an anguished sob as he heard the words. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he heaved air into his lungs._

_'No,' he choked, sniffing and clutching the dead man closer. The ground began to shake as rumbles filled the room. Rocks began to break and crash from the roof._

_'We need to leave,' Bill said firmly, a hint of urgency tainting his words._

_'Rich,' Beverly began between sobs. 'Sweetheart, we need to leave. Let him go.' She stepped closer to the two and tugged on Richie's arm._

_'No! I'm not fucking leaving him here to rot!' he yelled, roughly tugging free from Bev's grasp. Bev gasped from the harsh tone and stepped back._

_'Richie,' Mike said. Ben and Bill began to tug on his arms, pulling him up. Richie screamed despairingly as he fought to stay with Eddie._

_'No, no, no!' he screamed repeatedly, clinging tightly to Eddie. Ben sighed sympathetically as he grabbed Richie under the arms and hauled him up. Eddie's body fell limply to the ground. Richie continued to scream, tears flowing freely from his eyes._

_Ben all but dragged him to the exit, the rest of the Losers trailing behind him. Richie collapsed to his knees once they managed to escape. He stared as the building crumbled to pieces before him, crushing the man inside with it. Bill sank to his knees beside him, pulling the shaking man into his chest and holding him. ___

__———-_ _

__He had seen the way this ended, and no way in hell was Richie going to allow this to happen again. He reached up and grabbed Eddie by the shoulder before pushing him roughly away to the side._ _

__'Dude, what the fu-' Eddie protested in shock, landing on his side. His protest was soon replaced by a blood curdling scream as a long claw pierced its way through Richie's chest. The man gasped and gagged, blood spilling out of his mouth and trickling down his chin. Richie squeezed his eyes shut in pain. A thick stream of blood oozed out of his gaping wound, coating the claw around it a dark shade of red. Richie gingerly lifted his shaking hands to grasp at the claw impaled through him.  
Eddie's raged yell tore through his ears. Richie watched on through half-lidded eyes as the man in front of him groped around on the ground, retrieving the fence post he had struck Pennywise with when Richie was caught in the Deadlights._ _

__''This kills fucking psycho clowns if you believe it does!' he exclaimed, taking long strides forwards. He pulled his arm back before launching the post toward the clown with a shout. It buried itself in the centre of his chest. A shriek tore through the monster. It writhed around in agony, stumbling and swinging his spider tendons about. Richie moaned in pain beside Eddie as the claw began to move inside him, causing more blood to spurt from the wound._ _

__In a flash, Pennywise lifted Richie into the air as he continued to squirm in pain. Within seconds, the clown shook about and retreated off into a small cave to recover. Richie slid off the claw and fell to the ground below with a thud. His breath caught in his throat at the sudden impact as he struggled to suck air back into his winded lungs._ _

__Eddie was his side in an instant, digging his fingers so hard into Richie's shoulders that he let out a small cry. He pulled him into a sitting position and leaned him against a rock._ _

__'You're an idiot,' he scolded. He unzipped his jacket and shakily tore it off. He pressed it against the bloody wound, eliciting a sharp cry from the man beneath him. Richie’s hands shot up as if he to push him away, but he did not. ‘How did you know It was going to-' he began, eyebrows knitting together, mirroring that angered expression he would pull when Richie would tease him when they were kids. Richie smiled softly at the memory. He placed a bloody hand on top of Eddie's shaking one and let the other one fall limply by his side._ _

__'I saw it...' he whispered. His breath came out in soft pants. 'The Deadlights.' Eddie's expression shifted from anger to confusion._ _

__'Then why didn't you move away, too?' he asked, voice rising in volume. 'If you _knew _one of was going to be fucking skewered, why didn't you just move _both _of us out of the way!' Richie chuckled softly in response, then whimpered slightly as the action caused him a sharp stinging pain. Eddie's temper evaporated at the sound._ _ ____

__

__'Always gotta save your ass, Spaghetti.' Eddie's lips pulled into a small smile._ _

__'Don't call me that,' he warned, but no sign of anger nor annoyance was present._ _

__'Richie, sweetheart,' Beverly mumbled sympathetically. Her hair was matted with grime and filth. Tear tracks were present on her dirt smudged face. The rest of the Losers followed behind her, dropping down beside Richie. They looked on at him, pity written on all their faces._ _

__'I'm fine,' Richie responded happily with a beat. A small trickle of blood spilled over his lip as he did so. Beverly twisted her face in sadness for her friend. She placed a gentle but reassuring hand on his shoulder. Richie's features grew serious._ _

__'You need to k-kill It, guys,' he began, shuffling about in an attempt to get up. The Losers protested as Richie cringed in pain at the movement. Eddie firmly pushed him back down._ _

__'Easy,' Mike said gently._ _

__'How?' Bill pressed, moving in closer. Richie inhaled shakily before speaking,_ _

__'You need to make him small.' The group eyed each other in confusion. 'Insult him; tell him how much of a fucker he is. I don't care, just make him feel small.' Bill nodded in understanding._ _

__'I'm not leaving you here,' Eddie protested. Richie sighed softly._ _

__'I'm alright, now go,' he instructed. Eddie shook his head, placing his other hand on top of Richie's to further prove his point. The other man just stared at their hands, a faraway look in his eyes._ _

__'Thanks, Rich. Look after him, Eds,' Bill said, clapping Richie on the shoulder before setting off in Pennywise's direction. Ben repeated the action, ruffling Richie's hair playfully._ _

__'See ya, Trashmouth,' he smiled. Richie returned the favour. Beverly crouched down on her knees. Her eyes flickered over Richie for a moment before she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek._ _

__'I love you,' she said truthfully._ _

__'I know,' Richie responded playfully. Beverly laughed and pressed a hand to his cheek._ _

__'See you,' she said. Ben held out his hand for her and the two of them ran off together. Eddie turned to Richie and begun to fuss over him, pressing down harder on the wound, eliciting a grunt and a glare from the man beneath him._ _

__'Oh, stop being so dramatic, Tozier,' he teased. 'It's just a small scratch.' Richie huffed out a humoured laugh._ _

__'Fix me up, Doctor,' he fired back, wiggling his eyebrows the best he could in his circumstance._ _

__'God, you never grew up, did you?' Eddie asked, smirking slightly. Richie shook his head slightly, smiling. He suddenly hissed in pain._ _

__'Fuck! Watch it!' he whined, weakly slapping the offending hand. Eddie gave him a stern look that read _ _stop fucking complaining or I will leave you here _ _. Richie threw his head back in defeat and allowed Eddie to keep pressing the offending jacket against his wound.  
From the other side if the cave, the Losers could be heard shouting something a long the lines of:_ _ ____

__

___'You're nothing but a pathetic clown!' ___ __

____

___'You're just an old woman!' _That was Bev._ _ __

_____ _

__Buzzing began to terrorise Richie's ears. A slight headache sat behind his clouded eyes. He screw his face up in pain and allowed his eyelids to droop. Suddenly, he was being slapped back into the present._ _

_____ _

__'Hey!' Eddie scolded. 'Keep your eyes open, dickhead!' Richie only moaned slightly in response, blinking away the fuzziness behind his eyes. Eddie's face softened in sympathy._ _

_____ _

__'I know it hurts,' he mumbled softly, his other hand coming up to gently stroke Richie’s sweaty curls. 'But just stay awake for me, okay? You're gonna be fine,' he reassured, voice laced with worry. Richie chuckled tiredly. His chest rose and fell as he panted softly, trying to keep himself from slipping into unconscious._ _

_____ _

__'Always such a tight-ass,' he joked. Eddie gently flicked his hand._ _

_____ _

__'Bitch,' he teased back. The two locked eyes. Eddie’s hand tightened slightly in Richie’s hair before he pulled it away gently, tenderly stroking Richie’s shoulder as he did so. Pennywise's screaming along with the Losers' yelling interrupted their moment._ _

_____ _

__'Fucking kill It!' Beverly shouted. Richie quirked a questioning eyebrow lamely in Eddie's direction. Said man looked behind his shoulder, bloody hands still holding the jacket against Richie's chest. The area filled with silence for a short beat. It ended as soon as it began. The Losers came into focus as they came running toward Richie and Eddie._ _

_____ _

__'We killed It,' Ben informed, panting. The others nodded. They all looked shocked but also younger in a way; like years of fear and torture had been lifted off their shoulders. And with Pennywise gone, it had. Mike clapped the wounded man on his shoulder._ _

_____ _

__'Thanks, Rich,' he whispered, a look of genuine appreciation flashing over his features._ _

_____ _

__'Yeah, yeah,' Richie replied light-heartedly. 'I'm still bleedin' here,' he stated, gesturing to his chest with the hand that wasn't under Eddie's. Beverly grimaced at the sight of the red liquid smeared all over the jacket and their hands. Ben stepped forward and grabbed Richie's arm._ _

_____ _

__'Let's get you out of here.' Bill came to Richie's other side and grabbed his arm. Richie allowed his hand to gently slide out of Eddie's in order to help Bill and Ben hoist him up. They stopped abruptly as a nearby rock came crashing down from the ceiling. Shortly after, another rock followed per suit. And then another. The ground beneath them began to tremble._ _

_____ _

__'Shit,' Mike hissed under his breath._ _

_____ _

__'We need to get out of here,' Beverly said, a worried look plastered on her face. 'Now.' Eddie pulled away from Richie in favour of wrapping an arm around Richie's back to steady him. Together, the Losers limped out half dragging/half carrying Richie._ _

_____ _

__They finally made it out of the old house. The Losers fell to the ground in exhaustion. They watched as Neibolt crumbled, bringing down over 27 years of their life with it. Bringing down the memory of Stanley Uris, simpler times of hanging around at arcades and in the clubhouse._ _

_____ _

__They were drawn out of their thoughts as Richie moaned softly. He was sprawled out on the grass, hand clutching at his gaping chest. His body shook with pain and his eyes were squeezed shut. Eddie was at his side in an instant, hands on his cheeks._ _

_____ _

__'Rich?' he asked, gently tapping his face. Richie's eyes opened slowly. Eddie gently pulled the man towards his chest, cradling his head. Eddie turned back toward the Losers, eyes watering slightly. 'Call an ambulance.'_ _

_____ _

______________________ _

_____ _

__Several blurry faces stood in front of him stricken with concern slowly faded into his vision with each blink. He squinted until one of them handed him his cracked glasses. He gingerly placed them on his face and snorted at them._ _

_____ _

__'Who died?' Richie asked, face scrunched up with mock disgust. Beverly was the first one to break out into a laugh. The rest of the Losers followed shortly after, Richie included._ _

_____ _

__'Ugh,' said man moaned. He winced in pain. 'That shit hurt...' he whined. He looked down at all the wires connected to himself in mild disgust. Eddie frowned._ _

_____ _

__'Yeah, that's what you get for not saving your own ass,' Eddie scolded. He folded his arms over his chest and glared down at Richie. The man rolled his eyes back into his head and sighed dramatically._ _

_____ _

__'Come on, Spaghetti!' he exclaimed. 'That happened like five years ago.' Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes._ _

_____ _

__'Two days ago...' he corrected under his breath. Richie grunted slightly once again as he laughed. Eddie's face softened slightly. His arms dropped and came to rest by his sides._ _

_____ _

__'I'm just glad you're okay,' he mumbled. The Losers nodded in agreement. Richie stared for a moment before breaking out into a smile._ _

_____ _

__'Awww, you care about me, Eds!' he taunted, making hearts with his hands._ _

_____ _

__'Shut up,' Eddie snapped, no real venom in his voice. Richie blew kisses at him._ _

_____ _

__'You know I love you too!' he teased, alternating between laughing and scrunching his face up in pain at the action. The Losers - Eddie as well - broke out into laughter._ _

_____ _

__

_____ _

______ _

_____ _

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t write lol. Sorry that reddie is not exactly established - I didn’t know how to incorporate that in but it’s implied.


End file.
